Your Guide to GW sports

Yoni Berhanu among D.C. United trialists

After a standout career with the Colonials, senior Yoni Berhanu’s soccer playing days aren’t over quite yet.

The midfielder, who was the Atlantic 10 Midfielder of the Year this past season, is one of 14 trialists who will be training with the Major League Soccer club D.C. United in hopes of earning a spot on their preseason training roster.

After earning a No. 13 preseason ranking, GW earned just two victories with conference play gearing up. But while the Colonials struggled to score early in the season, Berhanu and junior Seth Rudolph combined to overhaul GW’s offensive attack, to become one of the top-scoring duos in the A-10. The streaking Colonials finished conference play with a 7-2 record and won their last six games before falling to Xavier.

Berhanu wrapped his playing career with 55 points and 15 assists, just shy of 10th-best in both slots on the GW all-time records. If he is selected to United’s roster, Berhanu will join the team at training camp in Florida, scheduled to start Monday.

Ave Tucker, a longtime supporter of the GW School of Business, turned his support of GW towards the athletic department with a $1 million donation in October, in part to enhance one of the country’s best college baseball facilities.

Though teams like Saint Louis may have more experience than the youth-laden Colonials, there’s a lot of parity in the tournament teams and the squad seems to buy into the belief that they have what it takes to win.

Seniors Madison Davis and Mackenize Jones each signed two-year contracts last December with Teach for America, a national organization that assigns recent college graduates to two-year teaching positions where they work with students often in inner-city schools.

Athletic director Patrick Nero said that his department will continue to grow because the athletic department can do something that others can’t: Bring in outside revenue to cover the cuts and keep growing.